'Patriotism ahead of partisanship': Liz Cheney urges Americans to vote for Harris

Former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney stood in Ripon, Wisconsin, the birthplace of the Republican Party, on Thursday and asked voters to support Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

Cheney has been a vocal critic of President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, for his attempts to overturn the election by fomenting the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

“As we meet here today, our republic faces a threat unlike any we have faced before, a former president who attempted to stay in power by unraveling the foundations of our republic,” she said. “We cannot turn away from this truth in this election, putting patriotism ahead of partisanship is not an aspiration. It is our duty.”

Cheney is the daughter of former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney, who also is supporting Harris. She represented Wyoming for six years, voted to impeach Trump, and led the House committee investigating the insurrection. Liz Cheney, who eventually lost her re-election bid to a Trump supporter, urged the Justice Department to bring criminal charges against Trump.

“When he learned that Vice President Pence was not going to abandon his oath and help Trump seize power, Trump sent out a tweet attacking pence and further inflaming the mob,” Liz Cheney said.

Cheney, who was born in Wisconsin, a crucial battleground state, urged voters to “meet this moment” and join the “broad coalition” that has come together for Harris.

Harris has won the support of more than 200 Bush, McCain and Romney alumni and more than 100 Republican former national security officials.

The event was held at Rippon College, just a mile away from the Little White Schoolhouse, an 1853-built white clapboard structure considered to be the birthplace of the Republican Party.

The party was formed in 1854 when several men came together to oppose the expansion of slavery in the western territories, according to the Rippon Historical Society.

That was six years before then-Republican Congressman Abraham Lincoln won the presidency in 1860.

Rick Wilson, co-founder of the Lincoln Project, a group of moderate conservatives and former Republicans, said Cheney's speech showed that "the courage of forming the Republican Party in 1854 as a remedy for a great injustice in this country still runs through Liz Cheney today."

The history-making city was an apt background, as Harris herself seeks to make history.

Harris, who is of Black and Indian descent, is the first woman of color to secure a major-party nomination for president. If elected, she would be the first female president of the U.S.

Harris made her own pitch to voters.

“I know the vast majority of us, regardless of your political party, agree we must hold sacred America's fundamental principles from the rule of law to free and fair elections, to the peaceful transfer of power,” she said. “If you share that view, no matter your political party, there is a place for you with us.”

Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House Correspondent for USA TODAY. You can follow her on X @SwapnaVenugopal

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Liz Cheney: 'Meet the moment' and support Harris